Our program curriculum revolves primarily around the ideas of interpersonal neurobiology, the intersection of spirituality and science, and using neuroplasticity, mindfulness, slow life, authenticity, imagination, community, etc. all as a path toward integration  and the unfolding of each Fellow from their own unique blueprint into their authenticity - deepened and informed by their past rather than limited by it.

Our work is heavily influenced by Dr. Dan Siegel, Peter Block, Mathieu Ricard, Dr. Norman Doidge, and Dr. Michael Merzenich, among others.

Additionally we focus on self-sustainability for our program and our Fellows through products and services that resonate with our individual passions, collective interests, and community needs.

In the fabric of the Strongheart Fellowship are the ideals and values of character, leadership, innovation, creativity, and service.

It is Strongheart's core belief that every problem has a solution -- and we instill and nurture that idea in each Fellow, encouraging them to reach inside themselves and to the resources available in the world to create a solution that truly serves all involved.

Social Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Creative Activism

Each Fellow works with a Project Manager from the Strongheart team. Project Managers have extensive experience, ranging from on the ground in resource-poor areas to managing events on the global stage. Together they will develop a plan for a hands-on “for benefit” business - a project that combines commerce and compassion - to benefit the Fellow, their peers, and their community.

Each Fellow will do an assessment of a specific need in the world. For instance, does an area village suffer from unsafe drinking water? Are the rates of HIV in teenage girls increasing in their community? Or it could be as in the case of SH Fellow Lovetta Conto - targeting other gifted and talented displaced youth in need of housing and education.

Following identification of the issue they want to address, they will begin to research possible solutions. Areas of research include finding out what has been done elsewhere in the world to effectively address the issue - along with identifying what resources are already available that can be tapped to deal with the problem.

After targeting the need and researching possible solutions, the Fellow will form partnerships with businesses, experts, volunteers, appropriate NGOs, action organizations, or government, business and community leaders where, together, a commitment will be made to address the targeted problem. This is an important step in understanding the incredible power of connectivity and commitment to create social change.

Ongoing interaction with leaders and innovators in a variety of fields that pertain to their chosen project will also be a crucial building block in seeing and experiencing first-hand how successful social good ventures operate.

The Fellows will work with their support team to freely exchange ideas, brainstorm 'outside-the-box' approaches, and learn important and powerful new skills – including website development, writing business plans and/or press releases, fundraising, public speaking, and marketing. These are lessons our Fellows might never otherwise have the opportunity to learn but are crucial for effective social entrepreneurship.

Each Fellow then execute their project with the assistance of their Strongheart team. The project will be a “development through enterprise” venture that will be triple bottom line: benefitting the Fellow, their peers, and their community.

The overall philosophy behind the Strongheart curriculum is simple: there are many problems in the world but they can be solved. Identify a problem and solve it, to the benefit of all. It is this ingrained philosophy that we feel will set a Fellow decidedly apart from the pack and truly build the maverick leaders of tomorrow.